“I’ll be right back, Mommy,” she said and handed her mother the towel she had been using to dry the dishes.
* * *
Blake had led Mario upstairs to his study and shut the double doors behind them. He then lit a Cuban cigar and handed it to Mario, who took it and puffed a little too hard. He broke into a coughing fit, and Blake patted his back, finding humor in Mario’s struggle.
“You need more practice,” Blake said, taking the cigar back from him.
“It looks that way, huh?” Mario said and wiped the water from his eyes. “I think I’ll give myself a few more years before I try that again.”
Blake went and sat behind his desk. He blew on his cigar and motioned for Mario to have a seat across from him. When Mario sat down, the two men looked at each other.
“What are your intentions with my daughter, Mario?” Blake asked the question he didn’t want to ask during dinner when Tiara was around. He knew she would have thrown a fit and it would’ve ruined the evening. He was happy to see his daughter smiling and laughing tonight. Her happiness meant everything to him.
“Happiness,” Mario answered as if he had read Blake’s mind.
“What about it?” Blake asked.
“Gaining happiness and giving happiness are my intentions.” Mario explained, “I’ve had a bit of a rough life, and things haven’t been easy. I’ve been failed by a lot of people, and I’ve come to realize that if you want your life to get better, then you have to do it yourself. All I want is to make a way out for myself and be able to provide happiness, comfort, and stability to the ones I love.”
“Are you saying you love my daughter?” Blake stared into the young man’s eyes. He was a little taken aback by Mario’s boldness.
“Yes, sir, I do,” Mario answered confidently.
“I see,” Blake responded. He took another drag of his cigar without saying anything. He was genuinely impressed with what Mario was saying to him. He was expecting a young, naïve little schoolboy to show up for dinner. He was surprised to learn that his daughter had chosen a seemingly smart and strong young man like Mario to stand by her side.
“Well, I like what I’m hearing, son.” Blake smiled at Mario. “I owe you a great debt for what you did back at the school that day. You showed a lot of courage, and you saved my daughter’s life. I can never repay you for that.” Mario stayed quiet as he saw Blake take another pull from his cigar.
“You have my blessing to date my daughter.” Blake was about to stand up and shake Mario’s hand, but Mario’s next words stopped him in his tracks.
“Oh, I don’t need your motherfucking blessing.”
“Excuse me?” Blake asked calmly.
“It’s fucked up,” Mario said, shaking his head.
“What do you mean by that, son?”
“That you have such an amazing daughter, but her shit is all fucked up because of you.” Mario began to laugh evilly. His whole demeanor seemed to change instantly. “I’ma just stop now with the charades, my nigga. Tiara is cool, and I almost feel bad for using her to get what I really wanted. But truth be told, I honestly don’t give a fuck about her happiness. All I care about is mine. I’m not here for her. I came for me. But above that, I came here for you.”
“I’m sorry, what was that last thing you said?” Blake asked, not sure if he’d heard him correctly.
“Exactly what I said. I came for you,” Mario repeated. “Your biggest mistake tonight was letting me enter your home without having your security check me,” he said as he pulled a pistol from his waist. “Put your gun on the table and we can talk some more.”
Mario pointed his weapon at Blake’s head, but Blake sat unmoving, staring into Mario’s hateful eyes.
“I am in my home,” Blake said evenly. “I am unarmed.”
Mario kept his gun aimed at Blake’s head and went over to the other side of the desk to check to see if he was being lied to. When he was sure that Blake really did not have any weapon, he put his gun to the back of Blake’s head and made them switch seats.
“How does it feel?” Mario asked sitting in the king’s chair. “To know you’ve been tricked. To know that your daughter has been tricked. You let me walk right into your home. It was almost too easy.”
“Why don’t you tell me who you are?” Blake said, his voice still even. “Who you really are.”
The gun pointed at his head did not intimidate him; however, it bothered him that he had no clue who the person sitting in front of him was.
Who has my daughter allowed in my house? he asked himself.
“Look at me,” Mario demanded. “Tell me who you see.”
Blake couldn’t say. Mario’s face had looked familiar from the first day he saw him, but he was sure he had never seen the boy until the day of the shooting.
“You don’t know, do you? I guess with all the bodies you must have under your belt, it’s hard to remember one from years ago, huh?” Mario shook his head.
“You just said that you were done with the charades,” Blake said in a bored tone. “But it seems to me that you’re still playing them. I don’t do guessing games.”
“Diablo!” Mario screamed in Blake’s face. “You killed my fucking uncle!”
Blake’s mouth opened slightly, but he quickly shut it. It all made sense to him. Mario looked so much like Diablo he could have smacked
